Trust is a major competitive differentiator. When rates constantly change, when prices constantly change, the trust you built with someone (or the trust you didn’t build with them) impacts your relationship with a consumer. That makes understanding trust a necessary (not optional) part of your small business sales training.
One source says that 61% of consumers put trustworthy information above all other factors when interacting with you. And that makes every interaction important. Trust can’t be a secondary concern. It must be one of the first things you do.
As Warren Buffet says, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”
But how do you measure something so important? It sounds impossible to quantify…but it isn’t. You just need to look a little further into the metrics. Make sure you gather insights, not just data.
The NPS Score
This one’s a classic, and you probably use it already. It asks consumers to rate their likelihood of recommending you to friends or family on a scale of zero-to-ten. You then subtract the percentage of detractors (scores zero-to-six) from the percentage of promoters (scores nine and ten).
The lower the score, the less trust you have. But be careful…people lie to you. Some consumers don’t want to hurt your feelings, so they give you a higher NPS score even if they don’t believe in it. That’s false trust and it won’t help you. Signs include getting high NPS scores but losing consumers or seeing leads dry up. Something isn’t making sense.
You may need to dig deeper.
The NPS + Score
The NPS + Score asks for a deeper explanation behind that first zero-to-ten rating. Following the initial score, it asks consumers to:
- Rate the physical, in-location experience?
- Rate the digital/online experience?
- Rate product satisfaction?
You could ask more questions too, but the point is to dig deeper. Get more specific. If they rated the overall score high but everything else low…the top score is a bad indicator of trust.
Even if the “big” NPS score is right, the more specific questions reveal friction points (a.k.a. gaps in trust) for even your biggest promoters. You can now home in on what to improve with your small business sales training.
The Consumer Effort Score
The consumer effort score also measures friction. It asks consumers to rate a statement on a scale of one-to-five or one-to-seven, where one is strongly disagree and seven is strongly agree. That statement says something like: “To what extent do you agree with this statement: The organization made resolving my issue easy.”
Higher effort equals more pain and less trust. Meanwhile, the easier you make someone’s life, the more they trust you.
Turnover Rate
It’s hard to build trust with a high turnover rate. Why? Because culture never stays within the four walls of your office or call center. It leaks out. Brands are more cultural than collateral, and your level of external service will never rise above your level of internal service to each other.
High turnover makes it hard to build trust because:
- Beloved team members leave, causing disappointment for some consumers
- A revolving door of new folks leads to more training and more frequent mistakes
- Nasty gossip about departures reach consumers’ ears
Turnover isn’t just an internal problem. It can also become an external reputation issue. Part of increasing external trust is increasing internal trust first.
Close the Gap
Don’t let a tidal wave of consumer mistrust take you down. Close the gap. Invest in your staff with small business sales training to create consistent experiences and ultimately improve these metrics.
We help organizations with sales and service training so they can gain consumer trust. Book a free consultation now to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business Sales Training
Q: Why is trust a competitive differentiator in sales?
A: Trust is a major competitive differentiator because when rates and prices constantly change across competitors, the trust you’ve built (or failed to build) with a consumer directly impacts your relationship with them. According to research, 61% of consumers put trustworthy information above all other factors when interacting with a business. This makes trust necessary – not optional – as part of small business sales training. As Warren Buffett says, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” Every interaction matters because trust must be one of the first things you do, not a secondary concern.
Q: What is the NPS Score and how does it work?
A: The NPS (Net Promoter Score) is a classic metric that asks consumers to rate their likelihood of recommending you to friends or family on a scale of zero to ten. You then subtract the percentage of detractors (scores zero to six) from the percentage of promoters (scores nine and ten). The result is your NPS Score. A lower score indicates less trust. However, the NPS Score alone has limitations and requires careful interpretation.
Q: What is the NPS + Score and why is it better?
A: The NPS + Score asks for a deeper explanation behind the initial zero-to-ten rating. After the first score, it asks consumers to rate more specific areas such as the physical, in-location experience; the digital/online experience; and product satisfaction. You can ask additional questions depending on your business. The NPS + Score reveals friction points and gaps in trust that the basic NPS score misses. Even if overall scores are high, the more specific questions often reveal where you’re losing trust with consumers.
Q: What is the Consumer Effort Score?
A: The Consumer Effort Score measures friction in the customer experience. It asks consumers to rate their agreement with a statement like “The organization made resolving my issue easy” on a scale of one to five or one to seven, where one is strongly disagree and the highest number is strongly agree. Higher effort equals more pain and less trust. Meanwhile, the easier you make someone’s life, the more they trust you.
Q: How does employee turnover impact external trust?
A: High employee turnover directly damages external consumer trust because company culture leaks out beyond your office walls. High turnover creates trust problems in several ways: beloved team members leave, causing disappointment for consumers who built relationships with them; a revolving door of new staff leads to more training and more frequent mistakes; and gossip about departures reaches consumers’ ears. Turnover isn’t just an internal problem – it becomes an external reputation issue. Brands are more cultural than collateral, and your level of external service will never rise above your level of internal service to each other.
Q: What role does small business sales training play in building trust?
A: Small business sales training creates the consistent experiences necessary to build and maintain consumer trust. Training helps staff understand the importance of trust as a competitive differentiator, teaches them how to create positive interactions at every touchpoint and equips them with skills to resolve issues easily and maintain relationships. Effective training also improves staff confidence and competence, which reduces mistakes and turnover. When staff are well-trained and supported, they naturally build stronger trust with consumers.
